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Kids Program Day 1 and Chill & Grill

July 2, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with Comments Off

We had another jammed packed day of ministry today. Our day began with the prep and setup for our kids program. From 12:00-2:00pm today we had our kids program here at the church for the children here in Valga. This morning it was raining a bit and we were a little worried how that would effect our day. In faith we set sound system and everything else up. It looked like the bottom was going to open up in the sky the entire time we were out. But it never did. God held it back until everything was done. We had about 50 kids. That’s not quite as many as we were hoping for or expecting but it was still a pretty good turnout. Tomorrow we are praying that number doubles.

It is so sad, but most of the kids ranging in age from 3-14 will make it here on their own. No mom or dad drops them off. In fact, mom or dad has no idea where they are and nor will they until they get home late in the evening. One of the crafts we made was bracelets and keychains. As soon as we started the key chains, all the kids started busting out all their house keys. We were so glad to be able to love on these kids.
In the evening we invited all the students that were at camp to join us for a special party at the church. We sent a bus up to Elva, which brought down a large group. We walked to the river and played some volleyball. Then came back to the church where we grilled up a ton of food and had a special meeting. The thing that we really wanted the students to know is that the things that we talked about at English Camp are not just for English Camp but are going on everyday.
Tomorrow is our last day of ministry. We will have the kids program in the afternoon again. Afterward we’ll be making the drive back to Tallinn so we can catch our early, early flight home on Sunday morning. I may not get another chance to blog until we get back. Thanks so much for following along and praying for us. God has definitely answered our prayers. So much has been accomplished on this trip- it is truly incredible. We can’t wait to see y’all soon and share the rest of the stories with you.

Camp Day 4 & More Pictures

July 1, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with Comments Off

Today we wrapped up camp. In our final session this morning we talked about what a changed life looks like. We looked at the story of Paul and the way that God worked in him and changed him. Ben France and Ying Lin shared their personal stories of the way that God has made them new. We also had two Estonian Christians share their stories. The whole morning was a powerful to end our week together.

Our team has continued to excel expectations. Every year we go into English Camp wondering how it will match up with last year’s camp. Every year things seem to even better than we could have hoped.
This afternoon and evening we had a little break and as a team got to experience a true Estonian sauna. Afterward we grilled out. It was a special treat.
Tomorrow is day one of our Kids Program. We are going to be running it 12:00-2:00pm. In the evening we have invited all the students from English Camp to join us for a special party at the church here in Valga. We want to connect them to what is going on here and to realize that what we talked about is not just an English Camp thing but something they can continue to pursue even after we are gone.



Camp Day 3

June 30, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with 2 Comments

We had another great day of camp! We concluded our look at the story of Joseph. The Gospel was told clearly tonight. Many of the students are responding. God is definitely moving in their hearts.

I would love to share more now but it is 2:30am and I need to get some sleep. The sun is already coming back up.
God has definitely answered our prayers this week.

Camp Day 1 & 2

June 29, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with Comments Off

Wow! There is never a dull moment at English Camp. We have cranked out the first two days and we have another day and a half to go.

Here is our daily schedule:
9:00 Breakfast
9:40 Meeting
11:15 English Environment
12:30 Lunch
1:30 English Environment
2:30 Free Time Activities
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Meeting
9:00 Cafe
We have had a great start to camp. With this being our third year to run camp, there are a few Esto students who have come once or twice before. They sort of know what to expect and help set the vibe. In years past during our meeting times, some of the students have responded in negative ways toward the teaching about God. This year it has been extremely well received and the fruitful conversations have come quicker than ever.
Our students are doing a great job of pursuing the students and engaging them. The Esto students feel extremely loved. We want to make sure that they know that we love them because Jesus loves us. We want to live out Christ’s love for them. The team is doing just that.
The teaching in Joseph has been a lot of fun. They are really hanging on during the story. It is incredible how good they are at English. We do our full lesson and all of our activities in English. Every once in a while we have to explain some things but they really understand. After the teaching the students break in to small groups to discuss the lesson, what they learned, and how it is impacting them. Many that are here don’t believe in God at all and are skeptical about anything that comes from the Bible. We are praying that God would reveal himself and soften their hearts to receive the truth.





Church and Camp Setup

June 27, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with 2 Comments

Our team was able to go to the church that we partner with here in Valga. It is always such an encouraging time to worship with believers on the other side of the world. During the service, I shared with the congregation a little about what was going to be happening this week and asked them to pray for us. Anna Gazmarian and Christian Dummit shared testimonies in the service as well.

After church we gathered our stuff together and organized for English Camp. We made the 45 minute drive to the school where we do camp. We had a little bit of a hiccup when we first got to the school. There was some confusion on their part with which rooms of the school we needed to have. That was all going down at 10:15am EST, so right during the church service. Thank you for your prayers because it took a little bit to iron it all out but we got it all worked out and ended up getting exactly what we needed.
We got everything all set for camp. The team cleared the desks in the sleeping rooms, set up the cafe, hung banners, made signs, sorted supplies, and set up chairs and the sound system. Everything is ready to rock! The students arrive first thing in the morning and then camp starts. The team went to bed a little earlier tonight to rest up for the week.
Here’s a picture of the team during our stopover in Munich:
Here is the team chilling at the church before lunch:

I know you parents love seeing the pictures. We’ll get some more up in the next couple of days.

Travel Fun

June 26, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with 2 Comments

Finally!! We are at the church… where we have wifi. Here’s what has been going on so far:

We flew out of Charlotte on Thursday evening. We were a little delayed but that wasn’t a problem because we had a scheduled eleven hour layover in Munich, Germany. We landed in Munich at 11:00am and had the day to tour around. A train took us to the city center, where there was plenty to do. We ate sausage, climbed church towers, shopped, and got to feel like we really experienced Germany.

By 7:30pm we were back on a plane headed toward Tallinn, Estonia. Chris and Laura were excited to see the crew when we landed at 11:00pm. It was so great to see them again. They had everything all set up for us. Needless to say, the team was pretty excited to get into a bed after 26 hours of travel.

After a great night of sleep, we had a morning of walking around the city and taking lots of pictures. It was a 4 hour bus ride to the church. Which brings us to tonight. It is great to bed here and see Pastor Margus and show the team where Chris and Laura have been doing ministry for the last year.

The team is doing an incredible job. Here is one example of the caliber of team that we have. After dinner, we had a little surprise. A huge semi-truck full (and I mean full) of donated clothes and food showed up at the church. It was a day early so there were no workers to help unload. Our team didn’t even hesitate to jump right in. They made a huge chain to unload the truck and had a great time doing it. We had that truck unloaded in an hour and a half. I can’t tell how impressed I am with our team. They are willing to be flexible on anything that is thrown their way, even after a couple days of tiring travel.

Here is an overview of the week ahead of us:

  • Sunday- Church in Valga and setup for camp
  • Monday- English Camp begins
  • Tuesday- English Camp
  • Wednesday- English Camp
  • Thursday- Camp ends
  • Friday- Children’s Ministry and Post-party with campers
  • Saturday- Children’s Ministry
  • Sunday- Fly home
It is going to be an action packed week! The team is rested and adjusted to the 7 hour time difference and ready to get at it. I’m updating you more as the week goes on.

We Made It

June 25, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with 2 Comments

Just got here to Tallinn. The team is doing great and all our stuff made it through. It was considerably smoother than last year’s trip. Can’t wait to tell you more. For now we are heading to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

Chow.

On The Road

June 24, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with Comments Off

The team is heading to the airport. We fly out of Charlotte at 5:30. From there we are heading to Munich. In Munich, we’ll have a long layover and get to spend some time in the city center. Then we’ll head to Tallinn where we’ll spend the night before we make the drive to Valga.

That’s the plan. Hopefully we’ll update you in 24 hours with the news that that is how it went down.

Thanks for following along and thanks for praying! We are expecting big things this week.

Camp Theme: Redeem

June 2, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with Comments Off

This year the camp theme is Redeem. We are going to be looking at how all things are made new in Christ. Josiah Venture was super kind and allowed us to borrow their artwork for the camp. We are going to be printing this on shirts that we will tie-dye during the camp week. Check it out!

Estonia 2010 – Not long now…

May 13, 2010 in Estonia 2010 with Comments Off

We have been cranking around here getting things set for this year’s trip. The dates of the trip are June 24-July 4 and it is coming up in 42 days! We are going to begin posting weekly here leading up to the trip with updates and prayer requests.

Thanks for checking the blog out and following along.